Three bodyguards were killed Friday when police attacked the motorcade of the attorney general of the central Mexican state of Morelos, the state’s governor said.

Ten state police officers were taken into custody after the incident, Gov. Graco Ramirez told Radio Formula.

The assault occurred after midnight Thursday in Cuernavaca, the state capital, as Attorney General Rodrigo Dorantes Salgado was en route to his home, the governor said.

The “absurd confrontation” - as the Morelos government called it in a statement - erupted when state police officers in several patrol cars overtook the AG’s motorcade, isolated Dorantes’ vehicle from those of his bodyguards and began shooting.

Asked whether the cops were trying to kill Dorantes, who escaped unhurt, Gov. Ramirez said the hypothesis of a deliberate attack is as valid as that suggesting confusion on the part of the police

“The confusion should not have existed,” the governor said, noting that the attorney general travels in a clearly marked vehicle which is known to the state police.

It appears the shooting continued until around 1:00 a.m., when state Public Safety Secretary Alicia Vazquez Luna arrived at the scene to find three of Dorantes’ bodyguards dead.